Bannister Complex Air Safe, More Tests to Come

Behind this wall at the soon-to-be retired Bannister Federal Complex is a defense plant that used toxic solvents.

File photo.

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Kansas City , Mo. – The old Bannister Federal Complex passed round one of EPA testing for hazardous pollution this week, but there are more tests to follow.

The environmental agency remained silent until the results were in. Volatile solvents, some of them carcinogens, have left no traces at the old Honeywell plant that pose a health hazard from breathing the air inside the buildings.

But seasonal considerations postpone further testing for soil and groundwater pollution, according to EPA spokesman Chris Whitley. He says that work needs to wait for "a little warmer weather and a little more soft ground."

Whitley says soil and groundwater tests will be conducted in the spring, and the results will be made public.